Fall TV to Watch

Ahh, the end of summer. There’s a crisp bite in the air, the leaves are changing color, the kids are back in school, and all your old TV friends come back from hiatus. No more reruns for you, honey.
Here are some shows I’m looking forward to this fall:

Homeland (Showtime)
If season 2 is as good as season 1, I’ll be pleased as punch. This show is, dare I say, solid. Not a weak link to be found in the bunch. Carrie Mathison (played by Clare Danes) just might be the awesomest female character on television (kudos to show developers, Howard Gordon, Alex Gansa, and Gideon Raff). It’s not often that you can take a female character and say that the part truly could have been played by either a man or a woman – and that’s called refreshing. Carrie does things that are awesome and terrible, and at times, terribly awesome. Did I mention she’s a total badass? Did I mention Mandy Patinkin? Damien Lewis? Just trust me and go watch first season, but before you do, watch this video that Tracy sent me last year: My So-Called Homeland. Homeland Season 2 premieres September 30, 2012.

Revenge (ABC)
As you can guess from the title, this show is about gettin’ your revenge on. Lying about her identity, “Emily” comes home to methodically destroy everyone and anyone who had a hand in her father being framed for a crime he didn’t commit and his eventual death/murder. Without getting distracted by Madeleine Stowe’s strange paralyzed face, Emily rains down all kinds of havoc on these chumps, taking Conan the Barbarian’s life aesthetic to heart, “Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, hear the lamentations of the women.” She even has a revenge sensei. That is called awesome. Season 2 premieres September 30, 2012. You can get caught up with Season 1 on Hulu if you’re fancy like that.

Doctor Who (BBC America)
I think we know each other well enough at this point that I can feel comfortable confessing something to you. I am a nerd. I know, hard to believe. A nerd who adores science fiction and (gasp) fantasy even. I’m sorry if this ruins your image of me sitting in a cafe, reading about nihilism, whilst trying to squeeze a cigarette in my mouth over the top of my gigantic, joyless grey turtleneck sweater. This fall continues the 40 year long Who journey through space and time (and television), so have some respect and get to watchin’. I will confess I grow a little weary of the hot-girl-as-companion dynamic that’s developed over the years, but I’m willing to go along for the ride and see what happens (Donna, wherefore art thou?). The new season just started up again this weekend on September 1, 2012. Need to catch up? If you have Netflix, there’s endless amounts of Doctor Who to spiral through, so get on that. That’s an order!

30 Rock (NBC)
Speaking of nerds, Liz Lemon is my favorite. If for some reason you have avoided watching this show, I beg of you to repent of your wicked ways and accept Tina Fey as your personal savior of comedy (Also, if you haven’t read her book, Bossypants, yet, you really should. It is awesome). Word on the street is this will be the final season of 30 Rock, so savor every episode. Season 7 premiers on October 4, 2012. Netflix is streaming seasons 1-5 if you wanna do some catching up.

Parks & Recreation (NBC)
Speaking of Bossypants, you need to read the chapter on Amy Poehler (do you like how I’m workin’ these segues?). It will make you love her all the more. I admit it took me a while to get around to watching Parks & Recreation, but once I did, I went whole hog. This is LOVE love and I’m in it for the long haul, baby. Parks & Recreation starts up again September 20, 2012, so let the Ron Swanson countdown begin!
P.S. Hulu and Netflix are both streaming seasons 1-4 so get on that.
P.P.S. You’ll notice I’m not wasting your time explaining what 30 Rock and Parks & Rec are all about, because I’m assuming you have a soul and are watching these shows and are in love already.

Grimm (NBC)
This show has really grown on me. What started out as casual dating has developed into a semi-serious relationship scenario, but we’ll see if I get to the point where I can say those three little words out loud. Right now I find myself still stuttering a little, “I l-l-l-like you a lot.” Basically this show is for Buffy The Vampire Slayer fans looking to fill the void. Most of the scenes have that cozy, dark lighting, there’s monsters, Nick has to wear the heavy mantle of being the Grimm (it’s really hard, you guys), and there’s Monroe. I love Monroe. You may have noticed I chose him as my Grimm representative. He’s the most watchable, likeable, loveable thing about this show AND he’s a werewolf. Or a Blutbad. Or whatever. Season 1 started out kind of hit and miss, but has progressively gotten better. So far I’ve really enjoyed Season 2. This won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but I recommend giving it a shot. Season 2 started up on August 13, but you can get caught up on Hulu.

American Horror Story (FX, Oct 17)
Do you like horror movies? Do you like mystery and suspense? Do you like watching bad things happen to good(ish) people? Then this is the show for you. Ryan Murphy and Brad Faluchuk are kind of genius. By making each season it’s own contained, stand alone story, they have the potential to make sure this show stays tight and fresh each time around. First season was amazing. I got scared, I bit my nails, I sat around theorizing how on earth these characters were gonna get through this mess, and the last episode still had me with my jaw on the ground. Needless to say, I have high expectations for Season 2. I hope it stands up. Plus, Jessica Lange, a favorite from first season, will be sticking around for season 2 – as a different character, of course. Season 2 premiers October 17, 2012.

Angie lives in a house with a Greg, two cats, and some plants. She works in an office doing officey type things. In her free time she enjoys playing music, drawing, and fantasizing about unicorns, zombies, and werewolves. You can find more of her writing at kissthechicken or follow her on twitter: @kisstheechicken

3 Comments

I’m going to give that “Revolution” show on NBC a shot. They have the first episode on Hulu and Comcast On Demand.
It was pretty good. Not perfect by any means, but I got into the mythology pretty quickly. It reminded me of a non-sexist/ non-zombie Walking Dead… like in the beginning when it wasn’t totally dumb.

I watched the pilot for “The Mindy Project” and I liked it! Probably because she wears a sequin dress and glitter heels for the first 5 minutes of the show, or the fact that she talks to a barbie underwater in a pool she has fallen in, or perhaps just because it was funny. Looks good!
I guess I will have to give in and watch Grimm.